Unleashed (Mr. Black Series Book 1) by Penelope Marshall Read Free Book Online Page B

eternity.
    “Wait!” I said loudly, my voice crackling from the dryness in my throat that I had long forgotten about.
    “Tomorrow,” she said, disappearing through the door.
    I watched as the door closed behind her, touching my hand to my cheek and falling back onto the ground to relive the last few moments in my head. My cheek felt rough underneath my dirty palm. Bringing both hands up to my face to inspect them, I realized how dirty I had become since the last time Nasima had bathed me. I wondered what I must look like to her, and tried to remember the last time I saw myself in the mirror.
    In another place and time, my rugged good looks would have made light work of this woman’s sensibilities. But now, as I sat there disheveled and unkempt, I felt a slight tinge of insecurity.
    Why am I even thinking about this nonsense? I need to figure out a way to get the fuck out of here.
    But what could I possibly say to Amadi? I needed something believable to feed him. As I pondered the situation, my lids began to get heavy, and as I tried to fight back the urge to fall asleep, the throbbing between my legs subsided. Slowly, I rolled over onto my stomach to let the lacerations on my back breathe as I slowly drifted back to sleep, murmuring Nasima’s name to myself.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    WATERBOARDING
     
     
    The next morning, the footsteps and the keys came like clockwork, just as reliable as the sunrise. Except there was something different today; perhaps it had been the hope that Nasima had given me during her short evening visit. But today unlike all the others before it, I felt the creeping desire to live once again. The keys jangled at the lock as the guard seemed to be having a hard time unlocking it. Finally I heard a click and the metal door flung open. It was Amadi with a huge smile on his face. I knew it wasn’t going to be a good day if he was happy to see me.
    “Come, my friend. I have something extra special for you today,” Amadi said.
    I rolled over onto my back. I just didn’t have the strength for another day. So I finally said, “Just kill me, muthafucker. I’m never going to say anything. Just kill me.”
    “Oh no, my friend. I am under strict orders to keep you alive,” Amadi said.
    “Strict orders from whom?”
    “Does it matter? You get to live,” Amadi said smugly. “Come on, let’s go. I have a schedule to keep.”
    “No!” I yelled.
    Amadi spun around and echoed my words in the form of a question, “No?”
    “That’s right, son of a bitch. No. You wanna beat me, then fuckin’ carry me your goddam self,” I growled.
    “Get your ass up!” Amadi yelled in my face, as saliva sprayed into my eyes. He was ravenous at this point, almost foaming at the mouth.
    “Fuck, your breath stinks. Why don’t you gargle with gasoline? It’d be a definite improvement,” I taunted.
    Amadi tried to pick me up by my shirt, but was unable to hold the full weight of all my muscle, so he dropped me back onto the ground. “Fuck, come pick him up,” he ordered the other guards.
    I laughed. “You weak muthafucker.”
    The guards picked me up by my arms and stood me up as Amadi ran up to me and punched me in the face, knocking me back to the ground.
    I pushed myself up off of the ground and slowly stood. Wiping the blood streaming from my mouth, I asked, “It’s easy to sucker punch someone, but how about when they’re ready for you?”
    “Grab him,” Amadi yelled to the guards, who quickly kicked me in the back of the knees, causing me to lose my balance and fall back to the ground. “Pick that bitch up and let’s go.”
    The guards picked me up and dragged me toward the door, kicking me in the shins until I started to move under my own strength. My energy dwindled with each step as I made my usual trek down the hall to the interrogation room. As I looked from the floor to Amadi’s back, I caught a glimpse of Nasima walking with another guard, rounding the corner and disappearing. I